Despite the split U.S. Congress, infrastructure historically is one of those issues that gets bi-partisan support. With that in mind, our elected officials are going to have to find ways to work together to accomplish key goals that benefit the American people and that just might mean getting buy-in from both sides of the political aisle—Democrats and Republicans—because an investment in the nation’s infrastructure often equates to an investment in its future economic success. President Trump has made some big promises, but the Federal Government’s next move in infrastructure investment remains to be seen.

Drones represent a huge opportunity in the construction industry today—and in the future. Goldman Sachs, for instance, predicts a $100 billion market opportunity for drones by 2020. Naturally, consumer and military are big opportunities, but it actually predicts that the fastest growth will happen in businesses and civil governments, with an expectation that they will spend $13 billion on drones between now and 2020.

It is the question every building owner asks prior to investing in the IoT (Internet of Things): Does the benefit outweigh the cost of the technology implementation? More simply, will there be a quick and quantifiable ROI (return on investment)?

Perhaps one of the biggest takeaways from Bentley Systems Year in Infrastructure 2018 Conference thus far is the fact that it has a clear focus on offering digital twin cloud services for infrastructure projects and assets.

AI (artificial intelligence) is perhaps one of the biggest trends to watch in the months to come, with many analysts predicting growth and technology providers making big moves in this area. PwC even suggests that global GDP will be 14% higher in 2030 as a result of AI, which is the equivalent of an additional $15.7 trillion. One big area in construction that is set to change is scheduling, with a new acquisition that happened this week.

Smart buildings are here. With the IoT (Internet of Things) and big data growing at rates faster than ever before, buildings are also becoming connected. For construction companies, investing in technologies and equipment such as sensors and platforms can enable clients to engage with occupants in realtime. Such is the case with hospitals.